Saturday, August 12, 2017

Today we get
another demonstration of Jesus’ divine power.Today we hear that Jesus came to the apostles, walking on water.I don’t know if any of you have ever tried
this, but it’s not too easy.Although I
can tell you that I have seen my friend Fr. Mark Gurtner walk on water
before.Or actually, his golf ball.I can’t tell you how many times he hits the
ball right at a pond, lake, or stream.I
will think he’s doomed, which is great for me, but then the ball just walks
right on the water and ends up on land.I’ve seen him do this hundreds of times.

But, for the rest
of us, walking on water simply isn’t possible.I wouldn’t advise anyone trying it.And yet, here’s Jesus, walking on water.It’s a marvelous and miraculous story.It’s one that helps us to grow in our faith.The apostles were witnesses to something
amazing.Their reaction to the event is
quite believable.The apostles were
crying out in fear.So all this tells
you that Jesus’ walking on water was a miraculous display of his divine power.

That aspect of the
story alone would make this story a great one to help us grow in our
faith.Put yourself in the boat, see
Jesus walking toward you, let the story help you to realize that Christ is
real, he’s God, he can do amazing things.Using the story this way would help us to turn to him in our own
difficulties.I mean, he walked on water
to get to the Apostles to help them out.So, don’t be afraid to call out to Jesus when going through the storms
of life.He will come to you and help you
out as well.

So, this story
helps us to know that Jesus is God.But,
what about St. Peter?I mean, Jesus
walking on water is great, but he’s divine, he’s God.Peter is certainly not that.We know that Peter is purely human, a weak
and sinful man.And yet, he too is
walking on the water.Amazing.Of course, he is only able to do it by the
power of Christ, but still he’s able to do it.

I think this is
really important for us.It reminds us
that we can really do amazing things.In
fact, we can do things that are impossible for human beings, but we can only do
them by the power of Christ.

Peter had no
business walking on water; and yet he did it because of the power of
Christ.I was thinking about our
vocations in life.If you stop and think
about it, don’t these things seem too hard for mere mortals like us?I’m a priest.I’m dedicated to the Church and have promised to live a life of
celibacy.My job is to help everyone at
St. Jude grow closer to Christ.My job
is to lead you all to heaven.That’s a
tall order.What about married
life?A man and a woman entering into a
covenant, united as one.You are called
to live every day of your life as a witness to love by giving yourself
completely for your spouse and your family.Doesn’t that seem like more than we are capable of doing.Single people: called to embrace a life of
holiness.Living life in communion with
God and others.Building up the kingdom
by your work, your words, your witness.Doesn’t that seem like too much.

Yet, all of us have
the courage to live out these vocations.Why?Because we have heard the
voice of Christ: come follow me.This is
the same voice that spoke to Peter: come out of the boat.Empowered by Christ, St. Peter walked on
water.Empowered by Christ, we can do
amazing things in our own lives as well.

But, and I think
this is really important, Peter began to sink.Think about it this way.Is it
really all that unusual that Peter sank?I mean, seriously, we should give the guy a break: he’s literally
walking on water.This is something way
beyond his abilities.So, I don’t think
it’s shocking that he starts to sink.Still, he does the best thing he can do in that situation: Lord, save
me.

Friends, you and I
are called to amazing things.In fact,
we are called to holiness, which is a vocation impossible on our own.Each and every one of us is out of the boat
and we are called to walk on that water.But, if we start to sink.If sin,
sadness, difficulties of any kind start to overwhelm us, we really shouldn’t be
that surprised.A life of faith is an
amazing thing beyond our natural abilities.So, we shouldn’t be that surprised that we might feel like we are
sinking sometimes.That’s not the
problem.Yet, what do we do about
it?Lord, save me.St. Peter gives a terrific example.

Give it a
try.It really works.The start to the school year is always a
stressful time.I’ve been yelling out, “Lord
save me” a lot this week.Put your trust
in Christ.Call out to him when you feel
like you’re sinking.Jesus will have you
back to walking on water in no time.